Entry #4 Road Trip Everyone!

Flipping through Glamour Magazine, what struck my attention was this Tommy Hilfiger print ad. Straight at the heart of it is a two-page group photo scene of twelve models! That's a lot of people for the usual one to two models needed to sell a brand. However, using this many people still covers the same common advertising techniques that one or two models can cover.

Looking at this ad and connecting it to what I've learned in class so far, the technique, Bandwagon, instantly pops in my head. The large number of people in this ad wearing clothes and accessories from the same brand shows that this is the right brand to wear to be "in the crowd." Observing the image I thought, "They're all so well coordinated!" This technique tugs on the need for affiliation, or friendship. To achieve affiliation, people tend to become mainstream. They look for what's popular so they can become popular to make or maintain friends. This concept of popularity through this brand is pushed on a global scale. In the corners of the pages throughout the ad are several main destination points throughout the world - New York, Montreal, Seoul, Moscow, etc. Mentioning these cities places Tommy Hilfiger as a world re-owned brand, popular throughout several countries, worn by people in cities considered to be the center of countries' culture as well as modern happenings. 

Another technique used is the technique, Transfer/Association, which associates products with desirable things to make them more desirable to buy. Here, all twelve models,both girls and guys, are all attractive and fit. The landscape is also appealing. It's seems like a good camping/hiking trip with the rocky ground, mountains, a glimpse of a body of water in the far back, plus all the supplies the models carry with them. The sun is shining over their heads and there's a slight breeze. With this natural landscape, there is the appeal to the need to escape. The scenery is free of chaos in the city and the models are reading to swim, canoe, and fish. These elements gives consumers a mental image to associate the brand's products with. Through this image is the association of freedom and escape, making the products appealing to those who want to escape and go on an adventure.

Dissecting the words chosen to be in this ad, the mention of the brand name, Tommy Hilfiger,  is a show of reification since it appears to be a trend in several big cities. What is also reification is the phrase, "le grand camp out-doors-ius." It is easy to pull from this that it means something along the lines of "grand outdoor camping" but saying it in a different language gives the product a more appealing and positive connotation because of its foreign elegance. 

There is also the phrase, "Join The Hilfigers." Using of the word "join" and personalizing the brand name to fit a group of people vs. just one person transforms this brand into what is called a "lovemark." The brand becomes a family with welcoming arms for people to identify themselves with. This family-setting approach can invoke loyalty among many consumers. Family is not meant to be used a few times; it is meant to stay and stick together. Unlike the loyalty of people who say, "I'm a One Directioner" or "I'm a Belieber," this brand is conveying that it is more than just something to be a fan of and obsess over. It is something to be apart of. One Directioners can't be One Direction themselves and Beliebers can't be Justin Bieber himself. But when people say, "I'm a Hilfiger," they are part of the brand itself.